The Otaku Experience
by PenguinBandit523
Summary: For Juromuro. One-shot. The Otaku Experience was a small restaurant where the waiters and waitresses cosplayed as anime, manga, and videogame characters. Raven has been working there secretly, but her world gets turned upside-down when Kyd Wykkyd recognizes her... and blackmails her into staying there? Just what has he got planned for poor Raven? Sort of an AU of 'Your Fantasy'


**I Did This in Only 2 Days! This is like a new record for me. :O **

**This is a (rather long) oneshot requested by Juromuro. I Hope you like it! :) **

**It's sort of an AU of my other fic 'Your Fantasy', but instead of the pairing being Robin and Red X, this one is Raven and Kyd Wykkyd. Enjoy~ **

* * *

The Otaku Experience

Never would she be able to live this down, should her team find out; especially Beast Boy. She shuddered at the thought. Where did it all begin? About two months ago.

Usually she could afford her books using only the Titans' budget percentage that was provided for them - the city pays for their necessities, including everything to keep Titans Tower up and running, food, and extra for technology. They also usually have a little bit extra that comes in from charitable sources, fans, and so on.

Even though that extra wasn't much by itself, once accumulated, it made a decent chunk of change for each Titan.

It just so happened, due to unfortunate circumstances, that the one book that she had been hunting down her entire life to have - a spell book written by a half demon like herself that featured complex magic and information about control over emotions - was very much out of her price range.

Her team knew how important the book was to her and even offered to pool each of their shares together for her.

But Raven is the type of person who would rather handle something on her own. She knew that her friends would be there for her, should she need them, but this was not one of those situations. She would earn the money on her own.

That was how Raven found herself applying at any job in her field of ability. And because of the threat of being harassed by their enemies, and/or the media, Raven did her best to look for places where the owner would keep her working there hush-hush. She couldn't disguise herself easily - purple hair and eyes being the key reason.

It was only by luck that Raven's new job would do the job of disguising her, for her.

She had been unsuccessful for the first few hours job-hunting, every place either shrieking with glee that a Titan was applying there, or sadly telling her that she did not fit the requirements, and she had been starting to loose hope. She had only a couple more places left to check from her list, but after that she wasn't sure what she'd do.

She came up to the next building on her list, the sign read: The Otaku Experience. Not her first choice, but apparently you made decent money and the requirements were pretty simple, you didn't even need a high school diploma.

The Otaku Experience was a small restaurant that was connected with the Jump City Convention Center - which was itself host to many anime conventions throughout the year. The little restaurant was so popular when the crowds came that it was able to stay open all year around.

It was called The Otaku Experience for a reason; all of the waiters and waitresses wore cosplays from different animes, mangas, comics, videogames, internet themes... anything of the sort. When guests came in they had the option of choosing which character they'd like to be served by. The waiters or waitresses could even pose for pictures with the guests, or do little skits if requested. Some guests even wore their own cosplays to the restaurant It was like having a convention any day of the year.

It was finally here that Raven found what she was looking for. The owners, a young couple in their early to mid twenties and anime fans themselves, were very respectful and understanding of her 'no-one-must-know-I'm-working-here' dilemma. The wage and tips were also very good. And while she was not too keen about dressing up each day, well, at least no one would be able to recognize her; especially since many of the cosplays required her to _cross_-play, as the appeal was mainly aimed at females.

Today, like any work day, she was just punching in and choosing a cosplay for the day. They had to switch them up, there were only oh so many waiters and waitresses, and very many cosplays.

Raven decided on Inuyasha for today, this was actually one of her favorites. She would never admit it, but she had watched the series and enjoyed it, connecting with the fact that Inuyasha was a half demon, like her, and had trouble being liked by either side. Kagome even reminded Raven of her team mates - caring, friendly... bipolar.

Raven sighed and put on her cosplay. _Let's get this over with. _

Poor Raven, she just had no idea that today would be a life changing day.

xXx

Raven and another waitress named Sarah, nice enough girl, more on the bubbly side but not as extreme as Starfire, were the cosplay duo of Inuyasha and Kagome, an instant hit with the guests. Therefore, both girls were extremely busy.

"Raven- I mean, _Inuyasha_, can you get the next group coming in? I have my hands full with a 'chicken, not steak' screw up at table nine."

"Sure, _Kagome_."

Both girls had issues remembering to call each other by their character names, and that was one of the things Raven liked about Sarah, she may have been a fan, but she was still in touch with the real world, even in this fantasy world. Some of the waiters and waitresses forgot that and got _**way too **_into it for Raven's taste. Jamie was a prime example, getting too into the role of the character and forgetting about the role of the server.

_I hope the next group isn't a big one- _

That thought was cut off as she looked wide-eyed at the group she was supposed to serve. Of all of the people to come here, why did it have to be them? She'd have even rather it had been her team, at least she could threaten Beast Boy into keeping quiet... But no, it just had to be them.

The Hive Five (now accurately named): Gizmo, Billy Numerous, Mammoth, Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd.

_Since when were they even fans of this stuff? I hope they don't start causing trouble, I really don't want to draw attention to myself by stopping them. _

She had no choice but to play it cool, show them to their table, **highly emphasize **the fact that they could choose a different waitress, and hope to God that they didn't recognize her.

She approached them. "Table for five?"

She tried to put more emotion in her voice, being too monotone might give something away, and being hostile would cause problems as well, so she tried for 'friendly'. Whether it actually sounded convincing, she wasn't sure.

"Yes, sir-ie," Billy answered. "A booth, a large one, since Mammoth here takes up the entire bench by himself."

"Hey!"

Raven nodded and silently led them to a booth usually reserved for large parties or families. She handed them each a menu and told them about the personal waiter/waitress option.

"Naw thanks, you're fine. Inuyasha is a classic. Besides, we'd all be arguing about who to choose anyway."

Raven sighed internally. _Of course not_.

She walked away and dreaded having to return in several minutes. Luckily, the busy waitress role had her temporarily distracted from those worrisome thoughts.

Twelve minutes later she was returning to their table, comforting herself with the fact that since they didn't call her out yet meant that they probably hadn't recognized her and probably wouldn't.

"Are you guys ready, or can I start you off with some drinks? I apologize, it's very busy today."

"No problem, kid." Billy kept answering for the group, Raven wondered if he was their new leader. "A nice and juicy, bacon cheeseburger for me."

"I want the cheese quesadilla!" Gizmo yelled.

"The 'Big Buffet' special!" Mammoth ordered a special that was supposed to be for an entire family to share - much like this table, usually for parties or very large families.

"Hmm, I'll take... the seafood platter," Seemore glanced over at Kyd Wykkyd as he pointed to something on the menu. "And Kyd'll have the mini spicy chicken burgers." The silent teen smiled and nodded.

"Any drinks?"

Two Cokes, a Pepsi, an Ice Tea, and a Root Beer. She ran off with their order, but not before noticing that Kyd Wykkyd had been staring at her the entire time she was there. Now she was inwardly panicking.

_Calm down, calm down it was probably just my imagination. That's it. His silence was merely unnerving. At least when the others talked I knew that they didn't recognize me... does that make sense? _

Raven kept making glances at Kyd Wykkyd, trying to determine if he was staring at her or not.

When she came back with their food no one mentioned anything about her being a Titan. Even though she could swear up and down that he was still giving her weird looks, no one else seemed to look like they knew, and decided that she must be imagining it.

She continued her work and left all thoughts of the Hive Five alone. Checking the time, it was eleven o'clock, time for her break.

"Sarah, I'm taking my fifteen minute break now." She was too tired to even attempt to remember to call the other 'Kagome'.

"Sure, I'll get Jerry-er,_ Link_, to cover for you."

Raven nodded in thanks and went into the back room, where they put on their cosplays, away from customers' eyes where she could just take a breather.

She sat in one of the make up chairs and just relaxed. She sat that way for a few minutes, until she thought she heard something behind her. She turned, and didn't see anyone, but the room was dim and harder to see in the corners.

"Sarah? Jesse? Conner? If someone is trying to scare me, it isn't funny."

No one answered. She pegged it as her imagination and turned back around-

Right into Kyd Wykkyd.

"Gah!" She squeeked in surprise and stumbled back.

_How the hell?! _

He was just staring at her, a slight smile on his face. He had an amused look in his eyes that Raven knew meant he was up to something.

"What are you doing here?" She hoped that he merely came with a question about the food, or something ridiculous like that; but even she knew that it was very unlikely. None the less, she tried to act clueless. "Customers aren't allowed back here."

He tilted his head, whether in confusion or amusement, Raven wasn't sure. He came closer and Raven readied herself to use her powers should he try to start something. He stepped right up to her face and gently lifted a hand to her long, white wig, and pushed it off along with the wig cap. Raven's purple hair slid out and he smiled.

He quickly backed a step away and pulled out a pen and note pad, scribbling something down on it and holding it up for Raven to see.

_**I knew it. **_

Raven glared and encased him in dark energy. She wasn't sure what she'd do yet, but she knew that she couldn't trust him to keep it quiet and would have to quit soon. _Great, just when I was about half way to my quota. _

Kyd Wykkyd viciously shook his head back and forth. Raven couldn't understand what he meant so she let him go and he took the pen and pad once again.

_**Relax! I just wanted to see if it was you. I won't tell anyone. ...As long as you stay here. **_

_What?_

That was by far one of the most confusing things she had ever heard. 'As long as she stays here'?

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

_**You working in the cosplay restaurant. It's very attractive. I don't want you to quit. I'll make you stay. **_

She really glared at him now. Just how was he supposed to make her stay? She would have stayed had he not uncovered who she really was. It was his fault anyway-

_Flash_

While she was distracted by her thoughts Kyd Wykkyd had taken out his communicator, which apparently had a built in camera on it, and took a picture of her. Her, in an Inuyasha cosplay, with her idiosyncratic purple hair and eyes...

She paused for a moment in shock, before raising her hand pulsing with dark energy readying to grab and destroy the communicator. But Kyd Wykkyd teleported out of the way and wound up on the other side of the room. She tried it again, but he just teleported once more. This repeated a few more times before Raven started to calm her fury (slightly) and realize that this was getting her nowhere.

Kyd Wykkyd noticed that she seemed to stop and took the opportunity to once again snatch the paper and pen.

_**This is how I'll keep you here. If you quit, I'll send this to everyone in my contact list, and you know what'll happen then: the entire city will end up with it. **_

"Why are you doing this?"

Raven was confused, why was he prolonging the inevitable? He would obviously send it sooner or later, why black mail her.

He actually turned sheepish at this question, and a bit of red colored his cheeks.

_**Like I said, I like you working here. It's attractive... you're attractive. **_

He definitely turned red this time. Raven was just in shock. She had only been called attractive, well 'beautiful' technically, by Malchior but he had been using her... How was Kyd Wykkyd planning on using her, aside from forcing her to work here for his own pleasure?

"Fine."

She admitted, she was curious of his true intentions; he must have a reason for wanting to keep her here, but she just couldn't fathom why.

He beamed at her.

_**I'm glad you see it my way. **_

She rolled her eyes at him.

_**One last thing...**_

_What now? If it has anything to do with the Titans he can forget-_

Her thought was cut off by a sudden pair of lips on her's. They were Wykkyd's lips, and they were warm. She stood there in shock while he lingered, pressing a little deeper into the kiss and opening her mouth a little, but nothing too intense, then he pulled away, smiled at her once more, and teleported out of the room.

Raven was left to gape there in shock.

xXx

Serving the Hive Five after that was insanely difficult. She was relieved that the others had taken care of their needs for the majority of their stay, and the only thing she had to do was give them the check (which they surprisingly paid). She couldn't look at Kyd Wykkyd, she knew her face would be tomato red should she even attempt it. She was actually surprised that nothing exploded from her uncontrolled emotions... yet.

As they left she heard and saw from the corner of her eye a 'conversation' between Seemore and Kyd Wykkyd.

"Good food, cute girls, we definitely gotta come back soon, right Kyd?"

The other looked in her direction, smirked at her, and nodded to his friend. Raven knew that her face exploded a nice scarlet at the moment and lasted even after they were out the door.

xXx

Over the next few days Raven continued to come to work (there had been no sign so far of the photo being leaked), and Kyd Wykkyd came to the restaurant to eat, every time Raven was working.

He never came in dressed in his costume, instead opting for civilian clothes - usually something along the lines of black jeans, a dark shirt, a hoodie and sunglasses.

He literally would come in, request her, order something light to eat, and just stare at her from his table for hours as she ran around taking orders. It was unnerving, and Raven hated it.

What was worse for the Titan was the fact that the other waiters and waitresses began to notice.

'Is that weird guy coming in today, again?'

'Who is he?'

'Oh, he's kinda cute.'

'Is he your boyfriend?'

'He's goth-looking too, are you two together?'

'He's here everyday. Is he your stalker?'

_The last one was actually pretty accurate. _Raven thought with slight amusement, even though the asker was more joking about it.

She denied any question about him being her boyfriend and only said that they 'knew each other'. Technically, yes they did. Were they friends like the statement implied; hell no.

Raven ignored the gossip and went to go change into her cosplay for today. She decided on something simple - Haruhi Fujioka, the version with the male uniform, not the female. There was no way they'd ever get her to wear that dress.

As she exited the changing room she immediately noticed that Kyd Wykkyd was here and waiting for her to serve him. None of the other servers even tried to ask him anymore, they just left him for Raven.

_Great_

She walked over, annoyance written all over her face.

"Alright Kyd Wykkyd, what are you having today?"

He pointed to the menu listing of lemonade, and then to a plain hamburger. Raven merely nodded and went to walk away, but felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked back at Kyd Wykkyd who was pulling out his pen and notepad. He quickly scribbled something down and showed it to her.

_**Your cosplay today is kind of suiting. Not because you look like a guy, usually, or anything. I mean, Haruhi herself is a lot like you - smart, confident... cute. And takes adversity in stride. **_

Raven was honestly, speechless. That was probably one of the nicest things anyone has ever said (well, wrote) to her. She really took it to heart and felt her cheeks redden.

She looked away, feeling embarrassed and muttered a 'thanks' before going back to work.

She couldn't help but think back to what he wrote, and continuously glance at him, over the next couple of hours. It felt like he stayed longer than usual, but that may have been because she usually tries to ignore him, but today she just couldn't get him out of her head.

When Kyd finally called her over for the check, she couldn't look at him, it just felt too awkward for her. She left it on the table and tried to walk away, but once again he gently pulled her back. She looked at him with confusion and he looked at her with delight.

Suddenly, he pulled out a white rose. She was now even more confused. He chuckled silently and took her hand, opening it, and placing the flower inside. Then he pulled out some money, sat it on the table, and left casually.

It took a few moments of standing there dumbstruck to finally realize what happened. She was more confused than ever.

_Just what does he want?_

xxXx

Another day called for a calmer Raven, and a continuously punctual Kyd Wykkyd. He showed up once again and repeated the routine, this time without the flower, which left Raven feeling better.

She didn't really know what to make of the Hive Five member now. Was he just messing with her? Or was he sincere?

She didn't trust easily and this whole mess was making her crazy. She could see that he might be telling the truth if she were Starfire, everybody wanted her, they could feel that way about the red head; but not her, not Raven. She wasn't glamorous, or sweet, or friendly.

So Kyd Wykkyd couldn't actually find anything to like about her, right?

She wasn't sure.

The stress was getting to her and it was apparently showing. Her coworkers all questioned her.

'Are you okay?'

'Is everything all right at home?'

'Are you going through a difficult time?'

She brushed them off saying she was tired and stressed out from both her friends and her job(s), but that she'd be okay. They let her go, for now, and she continued on with her day.

Kyd Wykkyd came in once again, but when she went over to take his order he frowned at her in concern. She attempted to assure him the same way she assured the others, but he wasn't buying it. Instead, he pulled her down into the seat across from him and gave her a stern look.

_**Talk. **_

She didn't know what to say to that. Why would she tell him her problems, especially since he was the main cause.

"There's nothing to talk about."

_**Bullshit. You're clearly upset. **_

Her eyes looked to her lap. She did, yet didn't, want to tell him.

The silence between them was thick and suffocating. He suddenly nudged her, she looked up and read the paper.

_**Is it because of me? **_

"...Sort of."

His eyes urged her to go on.

"I just don't get you. I don't get what you want. It can't possibly be for the reasons you claim. I'm not the one that people see and think is attractive - that's Starfire. So I know that you have to be lying but... I can't think of anything else you'd want!"

She practically screamed the last part and had to look down again, avoiding Wykkyd's gaze, and take deep calming breaths afterword. Even she didn't realize the extent of how much this hurt her.

There was a sudden, low scratching noise - she recognized it as the sound Kyd Wykkyd's pen makes when he writes - it was oddly comforting, and lasted a few minutes. In that time she regained her composure.

When the scratching stopped, she looked up to see what Kyd had written. He ripped the page out and handed it to her.

_**I wasn't lying, I do think you're attractive. In fact, a lot of people do; Starfire is just easier to fawn over because they know she won't attack them immediately. We know the type of person she is - she likes that kind of attention. **_

_**You don't. But that's part of what makes you so attractive. Are you familiar with the term 'men love bitches'? Not a bitch in the sense of someone horrible, but as in a woman who isn't afraid to be herself, do things for herself, feel confident about herself, and won't change for a man because she knows that she doesn't need to... **_

_**That's like how you are. **_

_**Beautiful, **_

_**Confident, **_

_**Self Reliant, **_

_**Strong. **_

_**You are attractive in a whole other way, in a way that the alien princess will never be. **_

_**In a way that makes me like you. **_

_**I have always had a thing for you. It was just until now that the opportunity never arose where I could show you... even if this is kind of forced. **_

_**Seriously Raven, you are amazing. Don't ever doubt yourself. **_

Breathless. That was the only way to describe how Raven felt. Like the wind was completely knocked out of her. Her heart ached, she wanted to believe him.

Maybe she was starting to.

She felt his presence move out of his chair and come closer to her but she didn't even look up at him, just sat there wearing an undoubtedly shocked face as she read his words over and over again. She felt his arms tentatively wrap around her and his body pressing up against hers. She still didn't look up. Then she felt something on her forehead - something soft and slightly wet - that got her eyes look over, and see that he had his lips pressed to her head. It wasn't a bad feeling, actually, it was kind of nice, so she let it go.

They stayed that way for a few minutes before he suddenly pulled away and looked at her with an expression that she couldn't read, and left.

xXx

He didn't come in over the next few days, and Raven strangely found herself looking for him each day. On the first day he never came Raven thought she was relieved, that maybe he had stopped holding the picture over her head. But it soon turned to concern; what if he didn't feel that way about her anymore. Maybe he realized that she wasn't as strong and confident as he thought. She tried to shrug off the thought with indifference.

_Who cares, it's not like he was a friend or anything. _

The next day she became even more worried. She didn't understand why, she was just apathetic about it the previous day (or tried to be). But she continued to worry, despite her own rebellion against it.

The day after that, her heart ached. She couldn't understand why he would just suddenly disappear. What's worse was that while on a mission, up against the Hive Five, Kyd Wykyd was no where to be found. She had to fight down the urge to scream and demand to know where he went.

The day after that, she felt like her heart was empty and cold, she wanted to yell and breakdown. The worst part, she wasn't even entirely sure why. Why did she feel this way about **him**?

_I shouldn't! I mean he black mailed me, stalked me... _

_Smiled at me, complimented me, comforted me, hugged me, kissed me... _

_Damn, It can't be. _

_I can't like him! I can't like him. I _can't_ like him? _

_Right?_

She couldn't even lie to herself at this point.

xXx

Two weeks.

That's how long the confusion and pain assaulted Raven's heart and mind. That's how long it took for Raven to see Kyd Wykkyd again.

It wasn't even in the privacy and safety of The Otaku Experience, it was during a fight with Dr. Light, but Raven didn't care.

The Titans were in the middle of a face-off with the light-based super villain. Normally, Raven would have been their Ace in the hole, but with her recent depression that even the other Titans noticed, they decided to let her rest and work out her troubles, not burdening her with any pressure - attempting to handle Dr. Light on their own.

Raven was still there, just not playing as major-a-role as usual. An odd, yet familiar sound came from behind her. She turned to see a swirl of black, and then Kyd Wykkyd appear out of the portal. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him and without thinking ran over to him. Into him in fact; she pretty much rammed her head into his neck area and beat her hands on his chest.

"Where. The. Hell. Were. You."

He grabbed her fists and lowered them to her sides but let her keep her face him his neck. They stayed that way until she gained control again.

The sight was so odd that both the Titans and Dr. Light stopped in their tracks and stared, mouths agape. Robin took a split second to tear his attention away from the scene and handcuff Dr. Light while he was still distracted, but turned back immediately after.

Once she relaxed Kyd Wykkyd released her and stepped back a step, pulling out his pen and notepad.

_**Sorry, personal reasons. **_

_**I needed time to think about some things and had to get away. Not just from you, I love seeing you, but the Hive Five too. I just needed to clear my head. **_

_**And I've decided, I'm leaving the Hive Five - permanently or temporarily I haven't decided yet. But I have some things in my personal life to work through, it's not from you, it was just bad timing. **_

_**But just because you won't see me with the Hive anymore, doesn't mean you won't still see me. I'll come for you. **_

_**I'll always come from you. **_

_**Maybe if you start to trust my feelings in you more, you can know more about my personal life too. **_

He smiled at her as she finished reading, and she gave a slight smile at him too. He wrote once more.

_**Until next time... **_

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Raven paused for a moment.

_Oh, what the hell. _

Then kissed back.

They couldn't hear the chorus of _'What?!'_s coming from just a few feet away. They didn't even realize where they were, just for that moment.

Just them.

xXxx Epilogue xXxx

Surprisingly, Robin hadn't really chewed Raven out that day. She personally thought it was because he had done worse, but also knew it had something to do with Batman's influence - he muttered something about cats, bats, sex appeal, and sleeping with the enemy.

She ended up telling them the whole story, and threatening to do horrible things to Beast Boy should he mention or make jokes at her job. They were more sympathetic after her story, especially since learning that Kyd Wykkyd basically quit the Hive Five.

She wouldn't argue with what they thought the fact meant if it meant they were more accepting of this relationship, or whatever it was.

And like Kyd Wykkyd said:

He wasn't seen with the Hive Five anymore, but that didn't stop Raven from seeing him anywhere else.

He still showed up at her job, the same routine, but this time Raven took just as much pleasure in it as he did.

They opened up to each other little by little.

And even though it wasn't a story book ending:

Kyd Wykkyd wasn't a Titan (and according to him, probably never would be), and Raven still wasn't over being her usual awkward-with-people, introverted self.

But they were happy and together, and that's all that mattered.

* * *

**I kind of want to throw up. This story came out way too cutsie for my taste. The only reason that Raven immediately realized that she started to like Kyd was b/c this fanfic is a one-shot and I wasn't sure how to stretch it any more. **

**I was tempted to end it with Kyd becoming a Titan, but... it just didn't seem right to me. For that, I don't care if this is a one-shot, he is not suddenly switching sides. -_- Besides, I like the whole 'sleeping with the enemy' thing. It's romantic. And Robin Knows that Batman does it with Catwoman; objecting to Raven and Wykkyd would just be messed up. But just to lessen the pain of Robin having to accept this, I made it so Kyd had to quit the Hive Five (for what those personal reasons are, I'll let YOU decide). **

**Hope you guys enjoyed, and Juromuro, I hope it was done to your liking. **


End file.
